20231208

watching nothing until morning

Psalm 130:1-8 (JDV)

Psalm 130:1 [A song of festival caravans.] Out of the depths I call to you, Yahveh!
Psalm 130:2 Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to my cry for help.
Psalm 130:3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
Psalm 130:4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that you may be feared.
Psalm 130:5 I wait for Yahveh; I wait and put my hope in his word.
Psalm 130:6 I wait for Yahveh more than watchmen for the morning — more than watchmen for the morning.
Psalm 130:7 Israel, put your hope in Yahveh. For there is covenant faithfulness with Yahveh, and with him is abundant redemption.
Psalm 130:8 And he will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

watching nothing until morning

Theoretically, a night watchman’s job is to look for possible threats to the field. Mostly, a night watchman just watches nothing and waits until morning. The psalmist picks up on that reality to describe his hope for redemption. Out of the depths he cries for mercy from God, and waits in hope for God to act. It may be a long wait, but he has nothing else to do. Salvation is not coming from anywhere else.

LORD, we wait for you, and we trust in your forgiveness. Our hope is in your plentiful redemption.